1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a reproducing apparatus and, more particularly, to an apparatus for reproducing data from a memory device integrally provided with a plurality of kinds of recording media.
2. Description of Related Art
Heretofore, there are well known video tape recorders (VTRs) each of which records and reproduces video data and audio data on and from a magnetic tape contained in a tape cassette. Meanwhile, tape cassettes each containing a magnetic tape having video and audio data recorded thereon, i.e., so-called software tapes, are being marketed for sale or for rent. Normally, each of the software tapes is determined at the time of production (at the time of recording) so as to have only a single utility value for reproduction. Thus, software tapes having respective different contents and ranges of reproducible information are individually produced.
In other words, each of the software tapes is arranged to allow the whole information recorded thereon to be reproduced on the side of the user.
At present, the software tapes are prepared in innumerable kinds, thus necessitating rental shops or the like to have an extremely wide space for display.
Further, there has been no available art for selecting and deciding the utility value or kind of a software tape at the shop or store according to the desire of the user, that is, for selectively limiting a portion reproducible by the user to only a part of the software tape.
Meanwhile, during recent years, streamers for computers or the like have been developed in which digital data are recorded on tapes. It is conceivable to provide rental software tapes usable for such streamers. In such an occasion, it would be possible to record a plurality of program files, etc., on a single tape beforehand and to decide, at the shop or store, a reproducible area of the tape according to the desire of the user. Such arrangement is highly advantageous for reduction in the kind and amount of the software tapes.
Further, such arrangement is desirous not only for the rental software tapes but also for software tapes on sale, in reducing their kinds which are too numerous.